342 



Glass 



the back side may be 12 to 15 inches high, and the front 

 side 8 to 10 inches. 



3. COLDFRAMES AND FORCING-HILLS 



A coldframe has no bottom heat, except that which it 

 receives from the sun; otherwise it is hke a hotbed. A 

 coldframe is "used for three general purposes: (1) for 

 the starting of plants early in spring; (2) for receiving 

 partially hardened plants that have been started earlier 

 in hotbeds and forcing-houses; (3) for wintering young 

 cabbages, lettuce and other hardy plants sown in autumn. 



Coldframes are ordinarily placed near the buildings, 

 and the plants are transplanted into the field when set- 

 tled weather comes. . Sometimes, however, frames are 

 made directly in the field where the plants are to remain, 

 and the frames, and not the plants, are removed. When 

 used for this latter purpose, the frames are made very 

 cheap by running two rows of parallel planks through the 

 field at a distance of six feet apart. The plank on the 

 north is ordinarily 10 to 12 inches wide, and that on the 

 south 8 to 10 inches. These planks are held in place 

 by stakes, and the sash are laid across them. Seeds of 

 radishes, beets, lettuce, and the like are then sown be- 

 neath the sash, and when settled weather arrives the sash 

 and planks are removed and the plants are growing natu- 

 rally in the field. Half-hardy plants, as those men- 

 tioned, may be started two or three weeks in advance 

 of the normal season by this means. 



"When the heat is spent from hotbeds, they become 

 coldframes. They can then be used, if empty, for the 

 starting of late plants; or the plants may be hardened-off 



